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Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday (the 13th, eek) Star Wars stuff

EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS THAT AND THE OTHER...STAR WARS EDITION.Sith is Finalist for Three Oscar NominationsFor a number of categories in the 78th Academy Awards, before nominees are selected a list of seven candidates is selected to present their work before a committee of voters. From those seven, three candidates are then selected for a nomination.

Revenge of the Sith has been selected for recognition in three categories, meaning that the film is eligible for nomination in these categories.

Up for the honor of Achievement in Makeup are Creatures Supervisor Dave Elsey, his wife Fabrication Supervisor Lou Elsey, and Makeup Supervisor Nikki Gooley. The makeup award nominating committee has put Sith on the list along with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Cinderella Man, A History of Violence, The New World, The Libertine, and Mrs. Henderson Presents. Ten-minute clip reels from each of the seven films will be screened for the nominating committee Jan. 28.

In the category of Achievement in Sound Editing, the work of Supervising Sound Editors Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood shares the list with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Walk the Line and War of the Worlds. The sound editing award committee will screen 10-minute clip reels from each of the seven films before voting to nominate three.

In the category of Achievement in Visual Effects, Animation Director Rob Coleman, Practical Model Supervisor Brian Gernand, and Visual Effects Supervisors Roger Guyett and John Knoll's work is up for consideration. Episode III joins Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong and War of the Worlds in the list of candidates. EDITOR'S NOTE: THERE'S A TOUGH CATEGORY, EH? (UNCLE GEORGE KIND OF INVENTED THE NEW TECH, BUT THE OTHER GUYS GET MORE CREDIT IT FEELS LIKE. I THINK THEY TAKE UNCLE G FOR GRANTED).Fifteen-minute clip reels from each of the seven films will be screened for the visual effects award nominating committee on Wednesday, January 25. At this screening the members will vote to nominate three of the seven films for Oscar® consideration.

Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 31st.

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND SPEAKING OF OSCAR'S INJUSTICE TO UNCLE GEORGE.....People's Choice shows disconnect with criticsBy Martin A. GrovePeople's picks: They may not be the season's most coveted awards, but Hollywood can learn a thing or two from the big winners at Tuesday night's 32nd annual People's Choice Awards.

Say what you will about it having been an unwatchable program that's hard for insiders to take seriously, but the PCA points up the disconnect between industry awards givers and the public. It also hammers home the differing views the public and critics groups have of the year's best films. EDITOR'S NOTE: YEAH....I KNOW. THE 'PEOPLE' ALSO ELECTED THE GOOFIES CURRENTLY (MIS)RUNNING OUR COUNTRY. SO I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T LAUNCH INTO "DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING" FROM LES MIZ JUST YET, I GUESS.

Indeed, the PCA's best movie and best movie drama, Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," and its best movie comedy, New Line Cinema's "Wedding Crashers," haven't resonated with other awards groups and aren't likely to be on Oscar's best picture radar. EDITOR'S NOTE: SNIFFLE. SITH DESERVES RESPECT. (OR, IN THE CASE OF ODDBOB, SITH DESERVE RESPECT?)

Nonetheless, the fact that the public embraced these films in its PCA voting on the Internet from nominations by Entertainment Weekly editors and the show's producers suggests Hollywood can find some answers here to the question of why the ratings for its key awards telecasts have been eroding. The PCA winners are clearly films in which moviegoers had a real rooting interest.

By comparison, the films that have resonated with the critics groups this season are almost all low budget, R-rated specialized movies that for the most part audiences across the country haven't had an opportunity to see and, therefore, can't really be expected to care about. The common denominator of many of the night's acceptance speeches was just how much the public's endorsement matters to filmmakers who aren't accustomed to winning awards because the movies they make are meant to entertain people rather than win critical acclaim. These filmmakers and stars have a strong sense of connection to the moviegoing public that has made them rich and famous and continues to support their efforts by buying tickets.

George Lucas, in accepting the PCA for "Sith," observed, "This is a very, very important award for me. 'Star Wars' oddly enough doesn't really get that many awards and I'm not a big favorite of the critics -- but who listens to them? I'm not an industry favorite either, but of course they're a bunch of studio executives. The most important people for any filmmaker (are the audience). The reason that I make films is for you. The audience rules. Thank you very much."

Although "Sith" hasn't resonated as a best picture nominee or winner with the critics groups, its domestic gross of just over $380 million made it last year's top grossing film. You don't even have to do the math to realize that if you added up all of the grosses for the half dozen or so specialized films that have done so well with the critics this season you wouldn't have a total gross anywhere close to $380 million. Nevertheless, "Sith" is just not the type of film that gets honored these days as a best picture by any group other than the public! EDITOR'S NOTE: HE SAYS IT DOESN'T HURT, BUT I BET....WHEN HE'S SITTING IN HIS BANK VAULT COUNTING HIS BILLIONS...UNCLE G SHEDS A TEAR OR TWO FOR THE LACK OF PROPS GIVEN TO HIM BY THE INDUSTRY. (AND A SMALL SNIFFLE, PERHAPS?)

Another good example is "Wedding Crashers," whose director David Dobkin, in accepting his film's award, noted, "Most of the credit goes to Owen (Wilson) and Vince (Vaughn), but we want to thank everybody for packing the aisles and laughing with us this summer. We had a really good time. We took a risk making an R-rated movie (comedy). It looks like it's trendy now, but in our moment it wasn't. And thanks to New Line for backing us up."

"Crashers'" gross of just over $209 million made it 2005's fifth biggest grossing film. It, too, hasn't made much impact on the awards front aside from the PCA. It didn't get into the Golden Globes best picture musical or comedy race, where smaller upscale product (like The Weinstein Company's "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Focus Features' "Pride& Prejudice" and IDP's "The Squid and the Whale") and large but more refined product (like Fox's "Walk the Line" and Universal's "The Producers") prevailed.

"Crashers" did get nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for best comedy, but wound up losing to Universal's "The 40-Year Old Virgin."

Sandra Bullock, who was voted Favorite Female Movie Star, told the cheering crowd -- cheering because real non-industry people were actually allowed in -- "I have to be honest, I'm very shocked. I'm certain that a couple people are going, 'What? Her?'...You put me in great company. I'm honored to be in the company (of the also nominated) gorgeous Angelina Jolie and the stunningly beautiful Nicole Kidman, who to me has always been the epitome of a movie star, but -- I think you picked the wrong person, but I'll take it."

Bullock would probably be the first to acknowledge that she's not on track to wind up in the Oscar or Globes best actress races. That, of course, doesn't mean anything to her fan base of US Weekly and People magazine readers across the country -- and that's how she got voted the favorite in her category.

The PCA's Leading Lady award went to "Walk the Line's" Reese Witherspoon, who explained in accepting that it was meaningful because, "You guys voted for us -- not the stuffy people in closed rooms" and added that the "people who voted actually go to the movies."

Witherspoon, of course, is something of an exception in that she has resonated really well with the critics groups and others this awards season for her much acclaimed work in "Walk the Line." Witherspoon won the Broadcast Film Critics' best actress Critics Choice Award Monday night. She gave a terrific acceptance speech and looked like a winner, which should enhance her potential in upcoming awards races. She's a Globes nominee for best actress - musical or comedy and I'm not the only Hollywood handicapper who thinks she has the best shot at winning Monday night. Witherspoon's also a Screen Actors Guild best actress nominee and is a very good bet to wind up with a best actress Oscar nomination Jan. 31.

"Walk" is a best picture - musical or comedy Globes nominee and is looking like a good possibility to win in that always competitive race. It also looms as the most likely major studio film to get into Oscar's best picture race.

Depp is a best actor in a musical or comedy nominee in Monday's Golden Globes for his performance in "Factory." While the film isn't a Globes nominee, it was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics in the best Family Film (live action) category, but lost to "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe."

Of the other winners named above, Depp is a Globes nominee for "Charlie" in the best actor musical or comedy race. Because Oscar voters tend to not give comedies the respect they deserve, Depp's unlikely to get an Academy nomination for "Charlie." His more serious film, The Weinstein Company's period piece drama "The Libertine," didn't gain traction with the critics groups and is unlikely to put Depp into Oscar play this year. On the other hand, his PCA fans don't reflect the critics' point of view and they named him their favorite male movie star of '05.

What this tells us is that the public is applauding one set of stars and filmmakers while the critics and other key awards givers are celebrating a very different kind of group. Neither of them are right or wrong because it's all a matter of taste.

Nonetheless, when awards show producers go looking for big ratings what they run into these days are problems tied to the fact that most of the films they're putting up for consideration aren't ones that the public's actually seen. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND, OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK AND LA, IT'S HARD WORK TO EVEN FIND SOME OF THE NOMINATED FILMS. Either they haven't played in wide enough release to reach people outside a dozen or so major markets or if they have gone wide enough they've failed to win big support from the public. EDITOR'S NOTE: BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ARE LONG AND/OR DEPRESSING, AND/OR FULL OF ANNOYING PEOPLE.

Whichever it is, it's not good news for anyone hoping for big ratings. Without a rooting interest in the films competing for Oscars or Globes, people are less likely to tune in and stay glued to their sets all night.

What the Globes has been doing quite well, however, for many years is conveying a sense of star-after-star-after-star being on the show. If you want to see glamorous Hollywood stars and, perhaps, catch a glimpse of them sitting at their tables half sloshed as the evening wears on and their champagne flutes keep getting topped up, the Globes is the best place to do just that. This year's lineup of star presenters and other celebrities is as good as ever and with the Globes making a smart move to Monday night that will take it out of competition from ABC's "Desperate Housewives," there could definitely be some ratings improvement over last year.

On the Academy Awards front, there are similar concerns, but because of the show's nature it's harder to convey the same sense of glamour that the Globes has. Instead of seeing crowds of celebrities mingling at the Oscars as they do at the Globes, what you see on the Oscar telecast are lots of people sitting in theater seats. In many cases, it's hard to tell who they are unless there's a very close shot of them.

Oscar's red carpet arrivals are, of course, covered extensively on television, but that's really a separate program from the awards telecast, itself, and people have been known to tune out when they think they've seen enough of it.

What can the Academy do to improve its ratings prospects? EDITOR'S NOTE: NOMINATE ROTS! (A QOTD CAN DREAM, CAN'T SHE?)If Oscar were to create a new category and a new non-Oscar award that reflected input from the public in terms of favorite films and stars, that could put mainstream commercial films like "Sith" and "Crashers" and their stars on the Oscar telecast.

The show, needless to say, is overlong as it is, so how you fit anything new into it is not an easy question to answer. Still, it could be a way to get movies on the telecast that would otherwise never be there and, by doing so, to attract viewers who like those films and want to see if they win.

Another possibility for Oscar would be to create the stuntmen's category that the Academy said no to last year. This, too, would add time to a show that should be getting shorter not longer. On the other hand, it would also add the type of films that moviegoers seem to enjoy most. After all, what kind of movies do stuntmen make? Action-adventures, sci-fi epics and fantasies are where you find great stunt work and, guess what, these are the kind of films that moviegoers are going to see and that they care about. It might not be a bad thing for Oscar to figure out how to get a stuntmen's category on next year's show and include clips and star appearances from five (or, perhaps, three) such movies that were very popular with the public.

Meanwhile, it's on to Monday's Golden Globes, which is always Hollywood's best party night of the year and has now evolved into an event that comes with its own weekend of built-in pre-partying a la the Oscars. It is, after all, a great way to focus industry attention on films hoping to get into the Oscar race.

A case in point is Lionsgate's party tomorrow at Morton's for several of its films, including Paul Haggis' excellent drama "Crash," which is on my own and many other insiders' short lists of likely best picture Oscar nominees. With "Crash" having opened early last May it's probably been seen by many Academy voters, but how well they remember how good it is is anyone's guess. Putting the film in the pre-Globes media spotlight is a great way to refocus attention on it and, perhaps, get Academy members to watch it again at screenings or on DVD. EDITOR'S NOTE: "CRASH" IS A GREAT FILM, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING NICE ABOUT LOS ANGELES. I WONDER IF THAT MIFFED ANYONE IN HOLLYWOOD, HAVING THEIR HOME TURF DEPICTED IN SUCH A NEGATIVE WAY?

EDITOR'S NOTE: HERE'S A FUN ARTICLE ABOUT OUR FAVE EVIL GUY....THE PUPPETMASTER HISSELF, IAN MCDIARMID. (I'VE GOT A BUNCH OF STUFF IN MY STAR WARS STASH THAT HASN'T GOTTEN POSTED DUE TO OTHER BREAKING ITEMS PUSHING IT ASIDE. SO ANYTHING DATED, MEA CULPA AND SO SORRY).In the shadow of Evil

Although his career in theatre spans three decades, Ian McDiarmid is best known for his role as the Evil Emperor in the Star Wars films. He talks to Lindesay Irvine about running London's Almeida theatre and why the Dark Side resembles the Oval office

Lindesay IrvineMonday November 7, 2005Guardian UnlimitedWith a face that manages to look both pinched and jowly, Ian McDiarmid was never going to be a matinee idol. But for the wilier character roles he can command a stage like few others with the sense of a subtle mind at work.

Such seasoned British - in his case Scottish - stage actors are always in demand in Hollywood to play the kind of villainous roles it's thought unseemly to cast an American in. But McDiarmid hasn't done very many.

"That's a pattern I'm very happy with. I mean I take theatre seriously and I am primarily a stage actor and every now and again a movie comes along and I'm happy to do it if the part's good.

"It just so happened that the one that came along for me was the biggest series of movies of all time." This of course is no actorly exaggeration: His own name may not carry that much recognition beyond theatre nuts who've enjoyed his performances in canonical works by Shakespeare, Molière and Marlowe and his 13-year stewardship of Islington's Almeida Theatre with Jonathan Kent. But show his picture to more or less any small boy and if they don't run screaming from the room they will recognise him as Palpatine from the Star Wars movies, the Evil Emperor himself.

From a smallish role in the initial films, George Lucas's prequel trilogy has seen McDiarmid become a steadily more commanding presence in the films. In the final film of the cinema sequence - Revenge of the Sith - his portrayal of Palpatine, the Machiavellian senator and puppetmaster of intergalactic unpleasantness, he is by some distance the most interesting thing on screen as the cacophonous welter of CGI drowns out the wooden good guys. EDITOR'S NOTE: YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BRING SOMEONE ELSE DOWN TO GIVE A COMPLIMENT. JUST SAYIN.....

Talking in a London club, the rather schoolmasterly McDiarmid is a courteous, if somewhat prickly interviewee. He's also clearly a little weary from a long round of promotional duties.

"Lucasfilm are very good to me ... I've been all over the world with the movie, and out to San Francisco with the DVD and talked to more people than I ever thought existed within the media - and I knew there were a few. It's been like a series of rather wacky improvisations and I've rather enjoyed it. But I don't think I ever want to do it again."

If it seems curious to be talking to one of the country's most intelligent actors about such a thunderingly populist spectacular, McDiarmid clearly doesn't see it that way.

"It may be curious but it's also strangely refreshing. I mean, to begin with, it was like being invited to play with a rich guy's train set."

He chuckles as he recalls being led on for an early scene in Return of the Jedi, more or less blind from the heavy prosthetic mask he wore (before his own face became Palpatine's disguise in the later films) to find RSC stalwart Michael Pennington kneeling before him on a giant soundstage surrounded by thousands of stormtroopers. "He got up and said 'Christ, is it you?' I said 'it was worth it just to have you kneel before me, Michael.' And it's been like that ever since."

"And then of course I thought Palpatine was a pretty good character. I like the notion that he didn't have any psychological subtlety or depth, that he was just solidly evil and the dirtiest word in his vocabulary was 'friend'. I thought that was terrific." He also bristles at the notion that the Star Wars films are totally hollow entertainments. EDITOR'S NOTE: OF COURSE HE BRISTLES.....HE'S ABOVE THAT SORT OF SNOBBERY!

"I remember when I sat there in the Evil Emperor's swivel chair and George [Lucas] said things like 'does it remind you of the Oval office?' And I realised that at that time Richard Nixon was in his mind.

"And I see that in the Guardian's review of the DVD - not favourable, of course - mention is made of the fact that there are lines that sound really contemporary. But the reviewer decided that was by chance: no, no, no, no. Entirely by design. "George knew that eight-year-olds, for whom these films are primarily intended, are very impressionable, and he wanted to make the right impression. So the whole film is about the unnecessary rise of fascism. In other words: watch out, they're all after your freedom, particularly when they're talking about defending freedom. Without getting over-extended about it, that is at the heart of these movies." He is also, clearly, grateful to George Lucas for the help he gave the Almeida when McDiarmid was still running it.

"When Phantom Menace came out, he suggested a special preview before anyone else saw it. He suggested we put it out to tender to large corporations so the Almeida could make some money to fix its roof.

"At the time he wasn't giving any interviews, but he said I'll come along and you can interview me. So of course people found that very attractive: and we raised £180,000 in one night. So there you go - he's a genuine patron of the arts." On the subject of the Almeida, and his astonishingly successful term as joint artistic director with Jonathan Kent, McDiarmid - sadly for theatre fans - has no immediate plans to return to running a theatre.

"It's nice to be free and acting and also have the essential thing if you're going to continue to be an actor - a life. And you can't go back - it's Michael Attenborough's theatre now. "But that doesn't mean that something else might not crop up, but it would have to be really good and challenging like that was."

In the meantime he's preparing to reprise his role in Brian Friel's Faith Healer, one of his final roles at the Almeida, in a production set to play early next year in Dublin and New York with Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones. EDIOTR'S NOTE: WOW. THERE'S A GROOVY CAST, HUH?!

He's also refining his skills at avoiding Star Wars autograph hunters, whose awe of the evil emperor is not apparently enough to stop them approaching. "They're a bit more tentative, but approach they do. A little more cowering would be fine. EDITOR'S NOTE: DON'T SCOFF TOO MUCH, IAN. IF THAT THEATER THING DOESN'T WORK OUT, YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF ON THAT 'BEHIND THE MASKS' DWEEBFEST TOUR, EH?"Usually they phrase things in a negative way, so they say 'you're not him, are you?' Then I can say, in all honesty, no. I have an ability to move quite fast, and I plan to keep disappearing round the corner as fast as I can."

EDITOR'S NOTE: ENOUGH OF THIS RIGAMAROLE....NOW SOME SHOPPING!StarWarsShop Exclusive: The Lucas Family Set

Eagle-eyed fans watching Revenge of the Sith may have noticed George Lucas' first-ever Star Wars movie cameo as the blue-faced Baron Papanoida waiting outside the Coruscant Opera House. What some may not realize, however, is that the entire Lucas enclave -- Katie, Amanda, and Jett Lucas -- also made brief appearances in the movie, immortalized now for the first time as Hasbro action figures!

This exclusive four-figure set includes three brand new sculpts available only at StarWarsShop.

Included in the set are:

Baron Papanoida (George Lucas) -- A mysterious trader baron with connections across the galaxy. No one really knew which side he was on.

Chi Eekway(Katie Lucas) -- An influential Senator during the Clone Wars, Chi Eekway was rumored to have close contact with the mysterious Baron Papanoida.

Terr Taneel (Amanda Lucas) -- Taneel was a loyalist, and one of the receiving Senators who waited on the Senate landing platform following Palpatine's rescue from General Grievous' clutches.

Zett Jukassa (Jett Lucas) -- Bail Organa witnessed the death of this 10-year old Jedi student who valiantly defended the Jedi Temple before being cut down by an overwhelming barrage of clone trooper fire.

Collectors will recall how quickly the previous George Lucas action figure -- Jorg Sacul -- sold out when offered a few years ago. History is destined to repeat itself with this exclusive offering, which for the first time depicts Lucas as a character actually seen in a Star Wars movie. What's more, the entire cast of Lucas family cameos is here, offered for the first and only time by StarWarsShop!

EDITOR'S NOTE: THE SET IS NOW IN PRE-SELL AT StarWarsShop.com. IT LISTS FOR $34.99, AND WILL BE DELIVERED IN APRIL.

2006 Hasbro Preview: Mos Eisley and Senate SkirmishThe first wave of Hasbro's Star Wars 2006 Saga Collection, with figures from the Battle of Carkoon, has been spotted at some stores and should be widely available in the coming weeks. This will be followed by a Battle of Hoth wave, then a Battle of Geonosis wave.

The fourth wave, available in spring 2006 at retailers everywhere, consists mainly of characters present during Luke and Obi-Wan's search for a pilot at Mos Eisley.

Each figure comes with a base and a randomly-selected bonus hologram figure.

This Ithorian sits quietly at a back table in the Mos Eisley Cantina and watches Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they enter to speak with Han Solo. Though peaceful by nature, he is ready to fight if needed. Comes with bar glass and staff.

R5-D4

Just as Owen Lars is about to purchase this astromech droid, its motivator blows a fuse. Owen demands another and chooses R2-D2 after a recommendation from C-3PO.

Garindan

Spotting the two wanted droids, this spy follows R2-D2 and C-3PO to Docking Bay 94 where they board the Millennium Falcon along with Luke and Obi-Wan. Using his comlink, he reports their location to Imperial stormtroopers. Comes with comlink and blaster.

Hem Dazon EDITOR'S NOTE: OOOOO...SO THAT'S WHAT THIS DUDE'S NAME IS!

No stranger to trouble, Hem Dazon is nonetheless startled when an old Jedi Knight uses his lightsaber to disable two men at the Mos Eisley Cantina. However, after his initial surprise, he goes back to his own business. Comes with blaster.

Han Solo

This bold smuggler makes a deal with Luke and Obi-Wan to take them and their droids to Alderaan. Before he can celebrate, however, he is cornered by the bounty hunter, Greedo, who tries to take him back to Jabba the Hutt. Comes with blaster.

Luke Skywalker EDITOR'S NOTE: WHO? (GIGGLE)

After the Empire's murder of his aunt and uncle, Luke Skywalker agrees to go with Obi-Wan Kenobi to Alderaan. He decides to learn about the Force and become a Jedi like his father before him. Comes with poncho and binoculars.EDITOR'S NOTE: BEFORE I GO AND SAVE THE UNIVERSE...AND BECOME A JEDI LIKEMYBLAHBLAHBLAH....I MUST HAVE MY PONCHO!

Sandtrooper

This weak-minded sandtrooper is convinced by Obi-Wan's Jedi mind tricks that "these aren't the droids we're looking for." While Luke looks on, amazed, the trooper allows them to move along. Comes with blaster and staff.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader is on a mission to capture Luke Skywalker for the Emperor. Although Vader is able to lure Luke to Cloud City, he fails to capture the young Jedi. During the ensuing battle, Vader reveals that he is in fact Luke's father! EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT????!!! Comes with lightsaber.

Movie-scene-inspired Battle Packs continue this spring with the Target exclusive "Skirmish in the Senate" pack.

In Revenge of the Sith, Jedi Master Yoda battles Emperor Palpatine culminating in the thrilling finale in the Senate chambers. Unable to defeat the Sith Lord, Yoda must escape leaving his cloak behind. The perfect-for-display or play pack comes with Emperor Palpatine, Yoda, two shock troopers and a Senate pod. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND WHAT'S LEFT OF YODA'S MANLY PARTS. DETACHABLE.

LEGO Sail Barge and Star Destroyer

EDITOR'S NOTE: HOW COOL DOES THIS LOOK, EH?!!!

Two of the Star Wars galaxy's most notorious vehicles are soon to be available in LEGO form -- Imperial Star Destroyer and Jabba's Sail Barge.

"The Sail Barge has been on the top of the fans' wish list for a long time and was a gaping hole in the LEGO Star Wars collection," says LEGO Global Partnerships and Alliances Director Jay Bruns. "We worked hard to ensure that the Sail Barge had a great visual appeal as well as a great play experience. There are tons of great features and surprises within the set."

Besides a generous 781-piece count, the Sail Barge includes a skiff, sarlacc monster, an all-new Lando figure with helmet, flesh-toned Slave Leia, EDITOR'S NOTE: ANYONE GETTING HOT UNDER THE COLLAR ABOUT A LEGO SLAVE LEIA NEEDS TO COME UP OUT OF THE BASEMENT A BIT MORE OFTEN, YES? Han, and Luke, and an R2-D2 fitted with a serving tray. Added figures include Jabba, Boba Fett, and Gamorrean Guard. The Sail Barge will retail for $74.99. EDITOR'S NOTE: SO WE WAIT FOR THE SALE (ON THE SAIL BARGE...OUCH).

Joining the Sail Barge is a new scaled-down version of the Imperial Star Destroyer, previously only available as part of the Ultimate Collector's Series. While the premium edition cost $299 when it was released in 2002, this latest version can be had for a $99.

Boasting a 1,366 piece-count, new figures included with the Imperial Star Destroyer are Grand Moff Tarkin, Imperial Officer, R2-D5, and a mouse droid. Additional figures include Darth Vader, two royal guards, and a pair of stormtroopers. Even the Emperor's hologram gets its own piece.

Jabba's Sail Barge makes its debut in July.

Sideshow Collectibles Announces Kit Fisto

Sideshow Collectibles just announced the forth figure in their already impressive Order Of The Jedi 1/6 scale figure collection. Just like the ROTS Obi-Wan EDITOR'S NOTE: SEE BELOW, this new figure is another 12" firstEDITOR'S NOTE: Available for preorder in about a week. Not sure when the toy itself is to be delivered.

Obi-Wan Kenobi 12-inch Figure

EDITOR'S NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WENT TO A BAD PLACE....BOB, JOEL, DAVE...BEHAVE!

EDITOR'S NOTE: GREAT....UMM...SCULPT. (PURTY)

Sideshow Collectibles has released images of the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi 12-inch action figure.

The 12-inch Obi-Wan figure includes:Authentic likeness of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Fully articulated male body with 30+ points of articulation EDITOR'S NOTE: OK. YEAH. SORRY. WHEN THEY MAKE IT THIS EASY, YOU ALMOST HAVE TO GO TO THE DARK SIDE.